15 Delicious International Holiday Food Traditions

Many major holidays, like Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year's Eve, are celebrated in nations across the globe, but food traditions vary from place to place. Find out how people around the world dine during the end of the year's most festive celebrations.

Sicily: Fish

Christmas in Sicily and Southern Italy means the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Traditionally, Roman Catholics in the region fast on Christmas Eve, so a feast of seven (or even more) seafood dishes at the end of the day is a true celebration of the area's bounty. On the eves of special holidays, as well as on Fridays and during Lent, many observant Catholics refrain from eating meat or dairy, so these seafood dishes are usually fried or cooked in oil rather than butter. Baccalà, or salted cod fish, fried smelt, and calamari are all popular choices, but the healthier shrimp and cod dishes below, each bursting with classic Italian flavors, would fit in at any holiday table.